Why is motorcycle racing afraid of this electric bike?
Playing "green" while filling the lungs of your fans with two-stroke fumes.
Hello, dear readers. It's been a while. I'm sending this note straight to you from sunny Seville, Spain, where I'm about to sample some new Porsches. You'll be able to read my takes on the things at a few different outlets in a few weeks’ time.
I've been keeping a number of big irons in the fire lately on top of all the drives and reviews and lots of other good stuff I've been writing. Today, though, something published that was a particularly heavy effort.
In November of last year, Stark Future showed up at the first FIM SuperEnduro event of the 2023/24 season. Despite being officially registered, despite jumping through all the hoops set in place by the series organizer, the team’s bike, the Stark Varg, was not allowed to compete. It isn't that it failed tech inspection, it wasn't even allowed to go through the inspection. The organizing body, the FIM, literally re-wrote the rules the day before the event to prohibit electric motorcycles from competing.
Since Stark was the only one fielding an electric bike, you can see why they were inclined to take it a little personally.
For a small company like Stark to field a team capable of racing at that level was a massive commitment. This action by the FIM was devastating. The story is enough to get your blood boiling, and I hope you'll give it a look.
This also marks my first byline at RideApart, and it's always a thrill to see my name at a new venue. Anyhow, I wish you all wonderful days and, as ever, I'll try to return with more soon.